The chant began as a disorganized rumble.
As the Chicago Bulls led by 14 points in the waning minutes of Friday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, clusters of fans scattered throughout the United Center started to strike on the same idea.
“We want Taj. We want Taj. We want Taj.”
Taj Gibson had waited patiently on the Hornets bench for the entire game. It was to be expected. His starting days are long gone. The forward averages fewer than 12 minutes per game in his 16th NBA season. It had been a long time and a long way since the days when he ignited playoff dreams on this same court.
But that meant nothing to nostalgia. The rumble grew to a roar, undeniable as the final minute ticked off the clock. Hornets coach Charles Lee turned back toward his bench, his eyebrows raised in a question. Gibson answered by standing to his feet, and fans responded with a surge of applause.
The cacophony didn’t last long. Gibson spent only 57 seconds in the game. But he finished with the ball in his hands, tucked firmly against the chest with his feet planted on the hardwood where he played the best basketball of his NBA career.
And for those 57 seconds, Gibson felt that he was back home.
“I’m that adopted son that they was really hard on for a long time,” Gibson said. “To get that kind of ovation was very special. I don’t want to tear up or nothing, but this city has been great to me my whole career.”
It had never mattered to Gibson if he made it into the game. Just being back in the building was enough. Gibson spent most of the evening spying familiar faces in the crowd, stretching all the way up to the rafters — people who saw him grow from a rookie to a veteran, now holding their kids by the hand.
Gibson doesn’t know if this will be his last game at the United Center. At 39, he still isn’t sharing any plans to retire, hoping to play until his body decides there’s nothing left for the court anymore. He does know the next time he’ll return — on Jan. 4 for Derrick Rose’ celebration game, a gift of the NBA schedule due to a rare patch of off days between games.
And Gibson knows Friday night will only be a tuneup for the homecoming embrace prepared for Rose and his former teammates next month.
“If you spend enough time out here — if you go to the West Side, go to the South Side — you see how passionate they are about their basketball,” Gibson said. “And you understand that this city just gets behind an underdog, just gets behind people that truly go out there and fight for the logo on the front (of the jersey), not the patch on the back. That red and white means a lot to the city of Chicago.”
Plenty of basketball occurred in the first 47 minutes. Ayo Dosunmu led six Bulls in double digits with 19 points. Lonzo Ball racked up four assists, including a one-handed lob for Zach LaVine to throw down a vintage, two-handed slam.
But for Gibson — and for most of the fans spilling out onto Madison Street after the win — those final seconds will make up most of the memory that remains from an otherwise nondescript win.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
1. Offense tested without Nikola Vučević
Vučević missed the game with an illness — the center’s first absence of the season. The Bulls have relied heavily on Vučević, who is averaging 21 points while shooting a mind-boggling 58.7% overall and 47.4% from 3-point range.
The Bulls turned to backup center Jalen Smith to fill in for Vučević. Smith scored 11 points, going 1-for-5 from behind the arc as the entire team struggled from 3-point range (14-for-51). Two-way center Adama Sanogo also earned minutes in the secondary rotation, finishing with two points and four rebounds.
2. Patrick Williams struggled in his return
The fifth-year forward returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 18 after being sidelined for 3½ weeks from pain and swelling in his left foot. Williams played only 13 minutes, 57 seconds after being given a 20- to 24-minute restriction from the medical staff.
Williams earned a smattering of boos from the crowd after air-balling a 3-point attempt in the first quarter. His shooting didn’t improve much — he finished with four points, shooting 1-for-7 from the floor and missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
3. Matas Buzelis faced a familiar challenge
The win highlighted one of the key areas of improvement for Buzelis, who did not make a shot from inside the arc.
The rookie started 0-for-8 from the floor before finally sinking a 3-pointer in the final minutes of the third quarter. He finished 1-for-11 overall, including 1-for-5 from 3-point range. Buzelis took risks and attacked the rim but came up against staunch opposition in Mark Williams and the Hornets frontcourt. Buzelis fought through and against contact but only got to the line once as he was blocked and bodied at the rim.
Coach Billy Donovan highlighted this as a positive growing experience for Buzelis, who was undeterred despite the physicality and frustration of the game. And the rookie still managed to make an impact with five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
4. Josh Giddey opened up the court
The Bulls got the best out of Giddey, who finished just shy of a double-double with 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals — with five turnovers.
Giddey shot 3-for-8 from 3-point range, a sizable improvement from a recent 5-for-25 skid over the last seven games. And he made an extended impact while sharing the court with Ball in a new dual-guard rotation that Donovan has been favoring as Ball’s minutes continue to increase.
5. Ball brothers missed another reunion
Lonzo Ball played against his brother’s team — but they were unable to reunite on the court as LaMelo was held out with a left calf strain. Lonzo had 10 points and seven rebounds in 19:23.
It has been three years since Lonzo and LaMelo played against each other in an NBA game. The Bulls hosted the Hornets on Nov. 29, 2021 — at the start of a surge to the top of the Eastern Conference and only weeks before Lonzo suffered a debilitating left knee injury that resulted in a 33-month absence.
The Ball brothers have faced each other only three times in the NBA as both have been sidelined for significant stretches due to injury.
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